Smartstore review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Open-source ASP.NET Core commerce platform for B2C and B2B shops
Black Friday: is there a Smartstore sale?
Smartstore report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for a self-hosted .NET shop
Smartstore is an open-source ASP.NET Core shop you host yourself, with unlimited products, multishop and multilanguage. AI tools, Mega Search and exports sit in paid editions that show no price, and its site leads with German.
Who Smartstore is for
- Fits if you have a developer and want an open-source shop on .NET
- Works for German-market sellers who want German-first documentation
Who Smartstore is not for
- Skip it if you cannot run a server, as the free edition is self-hosted
- Not for you if you need AI tools or search out of the box, as they are paid
- Watch out: paid editions are quoted by sales and show no price
- Watch out: the English site is a translation of a German-first one
Why Smartstore gets a 2.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyThe Community Edition is free but needs a server, which makes it a C. Paid editions show no price.
- BFree plan and trialOpen source with unlimited products, multishop and multilanguage, if you can host it. A trial of the paid editions is offered, with no length stated.
- CFeaturesA full shop core, page builder and B2B tools, but AI tools, Mega Search and CSV or XML export are in the paid editions.
- DEase of useNo store rating on record. You install and host it yourself, so someone must run the server.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, with seven listed integrations and an API.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Smartstore's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Smartstore? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/smartstore#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/smartstore.svg" alt="Smartstore: 2.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Smartstore stands among online store builders
Smartstore's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 43 of the 80 other online store builders we grade, and level with 16.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 55 of 80) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 81 online store builders we grade, cut by the letter each got. Smartstore’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 15 of 80, level with 51
- BFree plan and trialAbove 55 of 80, level with 25
- CFeaturesAbove 5 of 80, level with 54
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 80, level with 27
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 28 of 80, level with 52
Keep Smartstore, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Smartstore you would be making checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Smartstore is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- Inventory: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you.
- It plugs into other products, Microsoft Power BI, Azure BLOB Storage and Redis among them, and has an API.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
What this rests on. Smartstore’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Smartstore?
Smartstore is an e-commerce platform built on ASP.NET Core that you download and run on your own server or cloud. A free open-source Community Edition covers a full shop, and paid Premium and Enterprise editions add search, scaling and B2B features. It comes from a German company and is documented in German and English.
Worth knowing
- Paid editions show no prices; each one is quoted by sales.
- You install and host it yourself unless you take the rental option, so someone must run the server.
- AI tools, Mega Search and export features sit in the paid editions, not the free one.
- The website and much of its documentation lead with German; the English site is a translation.
Key features
- Open-source core
- The source code is on GitHub, and the free Community Edition has no product limit.
- Multishop and multilanguage
- Run several shops, brands and languages from one installation, with currencies and taxes managed centrally.
- Page Builder
- Pages, menus and shopping experiences are laid out visually with drag and drop, through a Page Builder plugin and a Menu Builder.
- B2B tools
- The Enterprise B2B Edition lists cart approval, budget limits, sales representative support and PunchOut via OCI and cXML.
- Data exchange
- A REST API plus OCI, cXML, BMEcat and OpenTrans connect the shop to other systems; import and export are built in.
- Built-in AI
- AI features for texts, images and translations are listed from the Premium Edition up.
Smartstore pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Smartstore has a free plan.
- Starts at
- Not published
- Free plan
- Community Edition: open source, unlimited products, multishop, multilanguage, responsive Flex theme and SEO features.
- Free trial
- Free trial offered; the page does not state its length
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Community Edition | $0 | Open-source download that you host yourself, with unlimited products, multishop and multilanguage. |
| Premium Edition | Custom | Adds AI tools, Mega Search, media manager, CSV/XML export, OpenTrans and BMEcat; no price shown, also offered as a rental. |
| Enterprise B2C Edition | Custom | Adds webfarm support, Redis, Lucene-based search, customer-specific prices and 24/7 support. Price on request. |
| Enterprise B2B Edition | Custom | Adds direct order, cart approval, budget limits, PunchOut via OCI and cXML, and order management. Price on request. |
Read from smartstore.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Smartstore before you buy.
Works with
- Microsoft Power BI
- Azure BLOB Storage
- Redis
- OpenTrans
- BMEcat
- cXML
- OCI
Smartstore alternatives
- Smartstore vs Shopware
Free plan · from €600/mo
- Smartstore vs PrestaShop
Free plan · from €24/mo
- Smartstore vs WooCommerce
Free plan
Common questions
Does Smartstore have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Smartstore is listed for Web.
Does Smartstore have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Smartstore is listed for Web.
Is Smartstore open source?
Yes. Smartstore is open source, according to its own site. It can also be run on a server of your own.
Does Smartstore have an API?
Yes. Smartstore offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.